Andrew Wise ( 1589 – 1603), or Wyse or Wythes, was an English publisher in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

during the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

who issued first editions of five Shakespearean plays.

Life

Wise was the son of a

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

yeoman; as "Wythes," he served an eight-year apprenticeship under Henry Smith and Thomas Bradshaw starting in 1581, and became a "freeman" (a full member) of the Stationers Company on 26 May 1589. He ran his own business in London from about 1593 to 1603; his shop was at the sign of the Angel in St Paul's Churchyard.

Publications

Wise published editions of the following five Shakespearean plays: *He entered '' Richard II'' into the Stationers' Register on 20 August 1597, and published the first quarto of the play before the end of the year. The second and third quartos both followed in 1598. All three volumes were printed by Valentine Simmes. * ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' was entered into the Stationers' Register on 20 October 1597; the first quarto appeared later that year. Wise published the second quarto of ''R3'' in 1598, and the third in 1602. Valentine Simmes printed signatures A-G of the first quarto, with H-M coming from Peter Short's print shop. The other two books were printed by Thomas Creede. * ''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the Battle of H ...

'' was registered on 25 February 1598 (

new style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various Europe, European countrie ...

), and published later that year, printed by Valentine Simmes and Peter Short. Q2 followed in 1599, with printing by Simon Stafford. * '' Henry IV, Part 2'' was registered on 23 August 1600; the sole quarto edition of the era was published that same year. In this case, Wise worked in partnership with colleague William Aspley; the printing was done once again by Valentine Simmes. * ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'' was also registered on 23 August 1600, and published that year by Wise and Aspley, with printing by Simmes. According to Peter W. M. Blayney, "Andrew Wise...struck gold three times in a row in 1597–8 by picking what would become the three best-selling Shakespearean quartos as the first three plays of his brief career." According to Sonia Massai, "No other London stationer invested in Shakespeare as assiduously as Wise did, at least while Shakespeare was still alive." In addition to Shakespeare's plays, Wise published a range of other contemporary works, including

Thomas Nashe Thomas Nashe (also Nash; baptised 30 November 1567 – c. 1601) was an English Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel '' The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including '' Pierce P ...

's ''Christ's Tears Over Jerusalem'' (1593), and

Thomas Campion Thomas Campion (sometimes spelled Campian; 12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620) was an English composer, poet, and physician. He was born in London, educated at Cambridge, and studied law in Gray's Inn. He wrote over a hundred lute songs, masque ...

's ''Observations in the Art of English Poesy'' (1602). As was typical of publishers of his era, he published religious and homiletic works, like ''The Pathway to Perfection'' and ''The Mean of Mourning'' (both 1596) by Thomas Playfair – though he appears to have operated a rather small-scale business, in comparison with other stationers of his generation. On 25 June 1603, Wise transferred his copyrights to ''R2, R3,'' and ''1H4'' to fellow stationer Matthew Law, who issued subsequent quartos of all three plays. Thereafter Wise "is not heard of again." F. E. Halliday, ''A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964,'' Baltimore, Penguin, 1964; p. 533.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Andrew Publishers (people) from London 16th-century English businesspeople